The tradition of
carrying the bride over the threshold seems at first glance
to be a simple romantic gesture, and is thought of in that way today,
but it has a much more dubious history. The origins
date
back to the custom of some tribes who had no available women and who
had to go and kidnap women from neighboring villages. The
chosen woman would be literally, and forcibly, swept off their
feet and carried away.
This also explains the
tradition of the
best man, as it would be necessary not to do this alone. The
groom (or lets call him the kidnapper in this case) would choose the
best man he knew for the job. Scarey really, isn't it!
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This
custom of carrying the bride acrss the threshold is also
explained
in the superstition which says that the bride will receive bad
luck if she falls at the entrance of her new marriage home.
A similar alternative says that the bride will be unlucky if
she
enters her new home with her left foot.
Giving
Away the Bride
In
antiquity, daughters were considered to be the property of their
parents. When the time came for a daughter to marry,
when the wedding was approved by father, he
personally
transferred the ownership of his daughter to the
groom. Today the act of giving away the bride to the groom at
the
altar symbolizes the blessing of her parents with regard to the
marriage.
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The
Custom of the Bride being Positioned to the Left of the Groom at the
Altar
This
custom is due to the fact that, when the bride was kidnapped, the groom
would be
afraid that her relatives would come to rescue her.
The
groom woud need to keep his right hand free therefore in case he had to
reach for his sword. Thus the bride would be
positioned on
the other side of his sword arm, in other words on the groom's left.
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